The guard scored Ehret’s first three baskets and had 12 first-half points as the Patriots jumped out to a 22-12 halftime lead over Landry on Tuesday night. But he was shut out in the third quarter, and the Buccaneers went on a 15-7 run that narrowed the lead to two.

“I’m thankful my teammates were helping me, finding me,” Kent said. “I was struggling a little and they told me to push through. Coach told us just settle down and relax. Don't let their run get us out of the game.”

Kent found his groove again just in time. He knocked down a short jumper and scored a couple of free throws in the final minute as Ehret pulled out a 47-37 victory and improved to 2-2. He finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

“We're trying to convince him that he can be a college-type prospect, but he's got to become more consistent,” Ehret Coach Allen Collins said. “He's got to become more mentally tough in terms of when things happen in the game – my mind doesn't go racing because I've rehearsed it, I'm smart about it, I have some toughness, and I know what to do and when to do it.”

Ehret also got help from Anthony McGhee, who scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Jayshawn Washington, who scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds. Washington’s block with 3:30 to play led to a fast-break bucket for Kent and killed Landry’s momentum after the Bucs had drawn within 35-31. The Patriots hit 6 of 8 free throws in the last minute to ice the game.

“We have a group that has some ability, but we're just inexperienced,” Collins said. “So we're just going through the early season lack of experience mistakes that we usually, in the past, haven’t made. They play hard. The effort was there. We just need to keep working at it.”

Landry (2-2) got off to a dismally slow start on offense. They scored five points in the opening quarter, and went the first 4:12 of the second period without a basket until Jovon Hoya’s pull-up jump shot made the score 16-7.

“We just didn't make shots tonight,” Landry Coach Josh Bellaire said. “We got good looks and the people who wanted to score got the ball in the position they wanted to score, but they just didn't fall.”

Collins said the Patriots’ game plan revolved around shutting down Landry’s big inside men, Tirrell Gilmore and Jalon Flagg. Ehret partially succeeded. Flagg had a game-high 10 rebounds, but just four points.

Gilmore was another story. After leading his team with four first-half points, he came on big in the second half and finished with 15 points and six rebounds.

“He's a raw talent right now,” Bellaire said. “He still has to learn the game. He can play, but he hasn't learned the game yet. Once his mental capacity for the game catches up with his ability, he'll be a force in high school basketball.”

Collins was just glad to escape with a win. He said there could be more nights like this for his young team.

“They're learning on the job,” he said. “And that's just the way it's going to be for a while until we develop a consistent rhythm with several guys.”